Tanya Acosta moves sandbags with a toy wagon as she constructs a sandbag berm around her home in Stepensville, Louisiana. The Morganza Spillway floodgates were opened for the first time in nearly forty years and have succussfully lowered the crest of the flooding Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya Basin. Heavy rains have left the ground saturated, rivers swollen and have caused widespread flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.

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Patrick Terrell walks his dog Rebel along a flooded street in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

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The historic Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Station is surrounded by floodwater in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

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Flooding along the Mississippi River at Fitler Bend near Lake Providence, La.

AP

Floodwaters from the Mississippi River creep inland across a field of soybeans in Natchez, Miss. The Coast Guard closed the swollen Mississippi River north of New Orleans, halting cargo vessels on the nation's busiest waterway in the latest effort to reduce pressure from rising floodwaters.

AP

A shed is seen under water at the Vidalia Dock and Storage, as floodwaters from the rising Mississippi flood buildings in Vidalia, La.,

AP

Scrap metal and other industrial supplies are partially submerged in water in Stephensville, La.

AP

Flooded homes, including one surrounded by a makeshift levee that failed, top, are seen in Vicksburg, Miss. The Coast Guard said it closed the Mississippi River at the port in Natchez, Miss., on Tuesday because barge traffic could increase pressure on the levees.

AP

Floodwaters from the Mississippi River creep inland across the shore in Natchez, Miss. The Coast Guard said it closed the Mississippi River at the port in Natchez on Tuesday because barge traffic could increase pressure on the levees.

AP

Lauren Lucas is comforted by her husband David Lucas, as they stand on a broken deck and watch her mother's business, the Vidalia Dock and Storage, take on floodwaters from the Mississippi River in Vidalia, La.

AP

Farmers work as floodwaters from the Mississippi river creep across their fields in Natchez, Miss. The Coast Guard closed the swollen Mississippi River north of New Orleans, halting cargo vessels on the nation's busiest waterway in the latest effort to reduce pressure from rising floodwaters.

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Mississippi River water surrounds the bronze statue of Tom Lee in Tom Lee Park on the 86th anniversary of the day Lee saved 32 people from drowning in the river when the steamboat M.E. Norman capsized. The river reached 47.8 feet on Tuesday, flooding low-lying neighborhoods but falling short of record levels that would have caused far more damage.

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Arthur Burton measures encroaching water as floodwaters slowly rise in Memphis, Tennessee. More residents were warned on Monday to get out of the way of the raging Mississippi River as it surged toward a near-record crest in its southern reaches, prompting authorities to try to divert some of the flood waters.

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Philip Bollheimer, 19, launches over some shallow Mississippi River water to get a closer look at the bronze statue of Tom Lee in Tom Lee Park on the 86th anniversary of the day Lee saved 32 people from drowning in the river when the steamboat M.E. Norman capsized.

ZUMA Press

People stand over the flooded Riverside Drive as the Mississippi River crested at its highest point in Memphis. The river is expected to reach record levels tonight in the Memphis area as over 1,000 across the area have left their homes due to fear of flooding.

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Several homes sit in a neighborhood flooded by rivers that lead off of the Mississippi river in north Memphis.

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People gather at the flooded intersection of Riverside Drive and Beale Street as the Mississippi River crests at its highest point.

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The flood-swollen Mississippi River flows between Memphis, Tenn., top, and West Memphis, Ark. The Mississippi River rose Monday to levels not seen in Memphis since the 1930s, swamping homes in low-lying neighborhoods but posing no threat to the city's world-famous musical landmarks, including Graceland and Beale Street.

AP

Homes on Mud Island are seen as floodwaters rise in Memphis, Tennessee. The city of Memphis braced for the Mississippi River to peak within hours at a near record level, and downstream the U.S. government opened a spillway above New Orleans on Monday to relieve flooding pressure on the low-lying city.

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A building is seen surrounded by floodwater in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis residents are waiting for the Mississippi River to reach its peak as the river rises near its highest level ever in Memphis, flooding pockets of low-lying neighborhoods.

AP

Farm lands north of Yazoo City that lie near the Yazoo River begin to go under water. Residents and farmers along the Mississippi River and its tributaries race to secure their homes and businesses as much as possible from what is expected to be historic flooding.

AP

Flood waters reach the aircraft hangers of General Dewitt Spain Airport by the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee. According to experts the river reached its highest point early this morning and has been flooding roads, homes and businesses throughout the area.

EPA

Darrell Evans, left, and Jermaine Jarrett paddle a boat down a flooded street in their neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. The Mississippi River is expected to crest at Memphis tonight at 48 feet, which is about 6 inches shy of the record set during the flood of 1937.

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Boaters paddle by a flooded section of Mud Island River Park in Memphis, Tenn. The National Weather Service is predicting a 48-foot crest of the Mississippi River on May 11.

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James Dunn gives his grandson Caleb Walker a paddle boat ride down the middle of a flooded street near his home in Metropolis, Illinois. Heavy rains have left the ground saturated, rivers swollen, and have caused widespread flooding in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

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Flood waters comes up to a casino in Tunica, Mississippi. According to experts the river reached its highest point early this morning and has been flooding roads, homes and businesses throughout the area.

EPA

Melvina Jones (R) and Beverly Willson carry furniture through flood waters as the swelling Mississippi River begin to surround there relatives home on Hudson St. in Vicksburg, Miss.

Reuters

Homes sit under the Mississippi river waters in the Kingsway Green mobile home park near Watkins at Highway 51. After weeks of rising to historic levels the Mississippi River reached a crest just shy of the forecasted 48 feet at the Memphis gauge.

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Cement trucks sit submerged at the edge of North McNeil near Chelsea.

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After weeks of rising to historic levels the Mississippi River reached a crest just shy of the forecasted 48 feet at the Memphis gauge.

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Robert and Carrie Medders and their daughter, Aleigha, 6, cool off in the swollen Mississippi River floodwaters as a riverboat passes by in Memphis, Tenn.

AP

Two houses sit, flooded by the Mississippi River crest in Memphis, Tennessee. According to experts the river reached its highest point early this morning and has been flooding roads, homes, and businesses throughout the area.

EPA

Water from the swollen Mississippi River surrounds the Historic Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Company Depot in Vicksburg, Miss.

Reuters

Cars stand submerged in overflow water from the Wolf River on McMiller Road in Memphis, Tenn.